Band:	Spectral Lore
Album:	I
Style:	Dark ambient, Atmospheric black metal
Release date:	2006
A review by:	Lucas

01. Layers Of Conception
02. The Drowning
03. Echoes Of A Long Dead And Forgotten Place
04. The Descent
05. Sigma Receptor
06. The Cleansing Rain / Morningrise In The Eternal Fields
07. Exodus

Burzum-influenced one-man-projects are about as much of a novelty as rice in a Chinese restaurant. And now we're on the subject anyway, the Chinese Black metal-orientated label (!) "Temple Of Torturous Records" have recently brought new life to Spectral Lore's début album "I". Spectral Lore, a Greek Ambient/Black Metal band that peaked quite a lot over Varg's shoulder when he was busy writing "Filosofem". To sum things up, what you're reading right now is a review for a Norwegian-sounding Greek Black metal band, contracted by a Chinese label that is in turn in contact with a Dutch reviewer who works for an international webzine. Sounds cool, right?

Anyway, enough nonsensical chatter, on to the music. As I said, the music is Burzumic in essence but the entire sound of Spectral Lore compasses much more than just that. Flutes, acoustic strumming, keyboard background fillers, the sound of rain, you name it, this band has it. Most of the time the mood is dictated by the distortion, which is highly corrosive when you really focus on it, but as soon as you let your attention drift slightly it morphs into a black haze, often enhanced by crystal clear keys resulting.

What sets this band apart from other Depressive Black metal bands, is that it doesn't just pick up a certain pace and sticks with that, for the sake of the 'flow'. No, there are constant changes in tempo and instrumentation; there are a lot of build-ups resulting in flows of distortion and eerie, whispered vocals. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Velvet Cacoon's "Genevieve" is one of his regular spins.

My complaints? Well, it sounds a little formulaic and thin at times not every ambient part hits the bull's-eye, but in the long run "I" is a very good album. A second album is out already, brilliantly titled "II", but I've yet to see any proof of that existence. But at least you now know where to get this album, and if you've read the previous two paragraphs, you will also know if this is something for you or not. If you still need more reasons to buy this, the artwork and total package is very nice!